


Only Losers Blame Their Karma

by Alexleetx



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga), 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 穿书自救指南 | Scumbag System (Cartoon)
Genre: A Fanfic Experiment, Author Is a Kiryuu Zero Simp, Author is wondering how many SVSSS reader also read VK, Crack Crossover, Crack Treated Seriously, FYI Kiryuu Zero is a Vampire, Know your Animes, Other, Self-Indulgent, Shen Yuan thinks Shen Jiu is a kuudere pirate princess with a severe brocon but a boy, Shen twins, Shěn Yuán is a bad sacrifice candidate, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Devil (System) lurks underneath magic arrays, The System punted Kiryuu Zero through a plagiarised FMA Transmutation Circle, The crossover that nobody needs, Wu Yanzi wants to summon a demon, bad Fullmetal Alchemist ripoffs, meta-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28585380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexleetx/pseuds/Alexleetx
Summary: Etched on the flat limestone floor was a man made circle that had triangles, rectangles, runes and more circles drawn in it to create a pattern like an intricate pentacle. It looked nothing like the arrays that he had come across in this xianxia world. In fact, it does not fit in the PIDW world setting at all; too modern and Shen Yuan felt like he had seen it before.Wu Yanzi stared at the pattern in undisguised glee, rubbing his big hands together and promptly burst out laughing. He whipped out a battered, leather bound book from his infinite storage pouch and laughed even harder.If Shen Yuan had been in another state of mind, he might have sneered at the way Wu Yanzi was flapping around like plucked chicken. As it was, the only thing Shen Yuan could see was the red haze that descended over his vision.‘That’s the array? Where did you plagiarize it from, huh? The Fullmetal Alchemist?’[ Initiating countdown: 3 hours 26 minutes and 3 seconds left to power up the  Ancient Array and gain +10 Sealing Knowledge. Failure costs 150 points deduction. Host currently has 510 points ]`Answer the question, you dirty, lazy copycat!’
Relationships: Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū &; Kiryuu Zero, Shěn Yuán | Shěn Qīngqiū &; Wu YanZi
Comments: 62
Kudos: 122





	Only Losers Blame Their Karma

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on a whim back in October 2020.  
> Then I picked up, recycled some of the ideas here and started writing my other SVSSS fic in December. 
> 
> I never intended to publish it as I doubt if anybody is interested. 
> 
> You're here tho... thanks. \\(//∇//)\

* * *

Jiu-ge had been taken away from him.

Qi-ge disappeared.

His so-called master, a demonic cultivator of a lowlife by the name of Wu Yanzi, has been barking at him to keep up. Shen Yuan’s feet were killing him. Gravel, grit and then slippery mud and then gravel again crunched under his shoes. 

They had been walking for days along desolated roads, through old villages and currently trekking up this ridge. Everything was so peaceful and beautiful, the tree-covered folds of the distant hills contrasted against the barren slopes they were currently ascending which plunged down to the river below. Apart from the apparent risk, the gruelling trek was scenic to the mind’s eye. However, Shen Yuan’s young, injury riddled body was tired.

When he didn't move, Wu Yanzi stopped, turned to him and his angry glare made a quiver shoot through his tired, protesting muscles. 

“Hurry up before I beat you again, boy! We are losing daylight!” The man spat at him, the blade of grass between badly chapped lips almost fell out, almost. An old, crumbling map rolled between his fingers, repetitively cursing Shen Yuan’s name under his breath for being so slow.

“Yes, Master Wu. This disciple begs for forgiveness.” 

“Shut up and walk faster! Fuck, you’re so useless.”

Gritting his teeth, Shen Yuan trudged on. If he was so useless, why not just throw him over the cliff? Wu Wanzi was up to no good. 

How Shen Yuan ended up with Wu Yanzi was not just a sad story, it was a tragedy. A tragedy because Shen Yuan was not supposed to be there in the first place. 

Ever heard of the word “transmigration”? No, not moving from one place to another to get a better life or more food like birds do because that’s migration. Transmigration meant one got plugged into another lifeform after death. 

There were a lot of cultures and even religions that revolved around transmigration. It was a popular anime genre too. Plain, boring nerd got zapped into a cool unfamiliar world in an OP protagonist body, went on an epic adventure and got the hottest girl. Sound familiar? Good, because Shen Yuan’s case was something like that but not really. He knows enough, okay? He had read enough trapped in another world, isekai mangas and worsened his eyesight binge-watching those kinds of animes to understand the drill.

Back to why this was all a tragedy: Shen Yuan in another life was oftentimes bedridden, a sickly, nerdy NEET who died after turning his guts inside out, lying in his own pool of vomit instead of the supposedly terminal congenital disease that made him a sickly, nerdy NEET. Newsflash, Shen Yuan lamely died of food poisoning. 

If he knew there was going to be some sort of an afterlife, he would have spent his days doing good, saved puppies, accumulate tons of good karma instead of rotting away in his room playing the part of a passionate anti-fan of a horrendously written stallion novel titled the Proud Immortal Demon Way up to the last minutes of his pathetic existence. 

If anybody asks, he had read every chapter, bought all the merch and rage-farted in the forums with black miasma criticising the disgustingly repetitve sex scenes under the pseudonym “Peerless Cucumber” because he genuinely liked the monsters. Yes, he loved PIDW’s worldbuilding, endured the bad plot, and stayed mainly for the monsters. 

Shen Yuan’s eyes bled reading the mega-chapters long papapa scenes starring the protagonist, the orphaned turned evil ruler of the three realms Luo Binghe and the members of his unaccountable sized harem. 

Despite it all, he forgave the author, Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky a bit because they used the term “pillar” instead of any other terminology for the male phallus. It made the papapa bits less jarring to his prudish, virgin heart. Nevertheless, Airplane should still burn in hell for writing the trash fire of a novel. 

Back on track, still on the topic of why was Shen Yuan’s transmigration a tragedy, Shen Yuan landed in the middle of this disaster of a xianxia world where demons exist and the humans were equally or a thousand times more evil than demons as the twin of the scum villain, the biggest and the baddest tormentor of Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu. In PIDW, Shen Qingqiu was the Qing Jing Peak Lord of the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect, Luo Binghe’s abusive master whose vindictive ways caused the protagonist’s blackening. 

Long story short, Shen Qingqiu ended up tortured to death by Luo Binghe. Not a problem because Shen Qingqiu was a straight up evil pervert who abused children, a predator who molested his students, murdered his sect brothers and pushed the protagonist down a hellish abyss. All in all, his death was well justified. Yup, Shen Yuan used to curse him plenty too. How dare he caused the blackening of a potentially awesome protagonist. Not that Luo Binghe was that bad but he could be more than an emperor who conquered lands by the sword if he was educated right at Qing Jing Peak rather than marriages to beautiful but politically important women who lusted after for his heavenly pillar.

However, it became a problem because the original Shen Qingqiu never had a twin and currently, the not-yet-evil Shen Qingqiu was merely a young teenage slave-boy named Shen Jiu who got sold by the slave-traders to the Qiu household. Shen Yuan, being Shen Jiu’s biological clone, by logic should be trafficked together as a set but suddenly was not up for sale because of a broken arm. He was damaged goods. 

Who damaged the goods? 

Why, Shen Jiu himself, obviously. Who else?

Make no mistake ladies and gents, Shen Jiu was no white lotus despite all of Shen Yuan’s efforts to shape him into a not-Shen-Qingqiu. Years trying to survive living as street rats made them learn that there were times it was necessary to be cruel to be kind. There were only two of them before they came under the protection of the kind-hearted Yue Qi. The twins learned from early on that there was nothing kind about this world.

Oh, Shen Jiu loved Shen Yuan more than his life, make no mistake there. The desperation to save Shen Yuan from being sold to Qiu Jianluo made Shen Jiu pull the Shen-Qingqiu-level move. Shen Jiu was naturally gifted to be a cultivator; a little bit of Qi and a swift chop to Shen Yuan’s left forearm did the trick.

A broken arm hurt like a bitch. 

It hurted more because Shen Jiu didn’t give Shen Yuan a heads up.

Ah, brotherly love— so complex.

A crippled slave was a defective slave so in the end Shen Yuan got thrown out by the slave traders who decided it was too costly to medically treat an injured skinny boy. It was then he caught Wu Yanzi’s eye. The man fixed the arm and promised Shen Yuan to break out Shen Jiu one day. 

Yeah, one day. Two years to go till Shen Jiu slaughters and burns his way out to freedom. Anybody who has read PIDW should know that. Shen Yuan was on a mission to change that incident. It will involve Wu Yanzi but he does not know how yet.

In a way, the demonic cultivator had snatched up a twelve year old boy, hooked him with an empty promise under the pretense of making him his apprentice. If teaching him just enough Qi refining techniques to rob, swindle, blackmail and set things on fire counted as things apprentices are supposed to learn, sure, one can say Wu Yanzi had been teaching him cultivation stuff. 

It has been a year since he last saw Shen Jiu.

Shen Yuan had a feeling that Wu Yanzi was merely stringing him for so long only to sacrifice him to Satan because that was what deviants do, right?

We will get to that part a bit later.

As for now we shall come back to why Shen Yuan really believes that he was in for a big tragedy. It was pretty simple, Shen Qingqiu or rather Shen Jiu’s backstory was never explored in PIDW. Again, was the fact that the scum villain never had a twin brother. If there was one, Shen Yuan would dare bet on his mother’s grave, figuratively of course because he was sure his real mother would still be crying over his death, the deadbeat author of PIDW would surely have written Shen Qingqiu killing his own twin just for kicks. There, he said it.

Shen Yuan theorised that he must have transmigrated into a PIDW alternate universe. That means he was in for the big shitshow because an AU could only do one thing that AU usually spirals down to: this would be one shit of a fanfiction. This was beyond head canons; an overly ambitious attempt to fill out plot holes that started off okay but fizzled off halfway kind of shit. 

Some kind of a scummy Godlike entity must have read PIDW and then decided to pluck souls off the fan forums to plug into the godforsaken, no pun intended, fanfic. A wild but plausible theory, God must have been pissed off reading Peerless Cucumber’s critiques. 

It was this form of an afterlife that made Shen Yuan hate the Gods. Who else would have the power to spirit away a dead guy, smack him in a toddler’s body living in the streets? Yessir, just like that. 

Shen Yuan clearly remembered dying. Then he woke up to a butt-numbing cold morning in a puppy-pile of rag wearing, lice infested kids. 

Confused, he ran out of the crumbling old house they were in only to be surprised by a voice that sounded similar to AIs such as Siri or Alexa. It came out of a holographic screen, obnoxiously welcomed him into the world, explained who he was, his connection to Shen Qingqiu and let him start with a hundred points. 

He almost had a meltdown.

Almost.

He didn’t get the chance because his newly attained twin, a fellow three year old toddler, evil villain in the making, older brother barreled into him in sheer panic a few moments later. Codependency sucks. 

Shen Yuan has always been hopeless around kids unless it was his chronic-level fujoshi of a little sister. Sure, Shen Yuan had siblings. Two accomplished older brothers and a porn reading, teenage younger sister. Shen Yuan was not used to being alone so he clung to the young Shen Jiu immediately. The would-be-scum-villain was just a kid then, not yet a bloodless, tearless crook. Maybe a bit of a kuudere pirate princess with a severe brocon but a boy.

It sucked even more because Shen Yuan too was a kid. How can a twenty year old pretend to be a kid? Impossible, almost.

The system deducted 5 points every time he goes OOC for not acting kidlike enough.

So he kept his mouth mostly shut, stuck to his Jiu-ge and listened to the older girls who took care of the toddlers while the older boys took to the streets. The kids had grass for lunch and dinner that day because that was what orphans have to eat when they don’t have enough coins to buy food.

Shen Yuan had a stomach ache on top of hunger that night so cursed the Gods on top of his lungs before bedtime. Some of the smaller kids cried. It was OOC so you know what happened.

He eventually managed to unlock the OOC restriction with a cutthroat 300 points about two years later.

How?

The system sic points earning quests on him once in a while.

Like now. 

[ Host must reach the Cave of Arrays by sunset. Failing to arrive at the immediate quest starting point costs 50 points deduction. Host currently has 560 points ]

_‘50 just for being late? How many points do I get if I reach there on time, huh?’_

[ None (｀∀´)Ψ ]

Shen used to argue with the System for it’s dubious point awarding process but now he could not be bothered anymore. Rewards were small but the penalties were heavy.

He kicked a pebble in silent protest. Too bad the little outburst caught Wu Yanzi’s attention.

Shit.

Wu Yanzi turned to him and the taut line of his stubbly jaw told him he was not happy. Shen Yuan’s eyes zeroed onto Wu Yanzi’s right hand placed on the hilt of his sword. 

Although Shen Yuan has his own duller edged weapon strapped to his waist, he knew all too well that Wu Yanzi was a good enough swordsman who has the skill to lop his head off in a split second. 

The rouge demonic cultivator’s chest rose in a deep breath as he stepped forward, towering over Shen Yuan. “You’re doing it again,” accused the man.

“This disciple does not understand, Master.” Shen Yuan dared to reply.

[ Host is wasting precious time. (⌐▨_▨) ]

_‘Not now, System!’_

“I had to watch you staring off into nothing like a moron as you always do. You’re slowing me down, brat,” Wu Yanzi’s nostrils flared with a heavy exhale. “I told you that I have to arrive at the cave tonight because of the full moon yet here you are about to throw a kiddy tantrum.”

“Just ditch this useless one here then,” Shen Yuan shot back. The words escaped out of his mouth before he could stop them, and well, it was like having a foot in his grave already. Shen Yuan regretted it belatedly. 

Wu Yanzi scoffed at his outburst as if he had been expecting one, lowered his head and the act seemed to symbolize how patient he was and for some reason made Shen Yuan a little braver. Shen Yuan’s tiredness and frustration with the futility of the trip was getting to him.

Despite the tension, Shen Yuan built steel around his spine and stared. The man did not slap him for his pathetic attempt of insubordination— yet. 

“Look here, brat and listen carefully,” Wu Yanzi held Shen Yuan’s defiant gaze and made his voice mockingly soft. The master’s callused hand moved from the sword hilt to clamp on a skinny shoulder. The gesture does not bode well for Shen Yuan. 

“Do you still want me to save your brother?”

Anger blasted through Shen Yuan. Wu Yanzi has been throwing that around for nearly a year every time Shen Yuan hesitated. In Wu Yanzi’s eyes, he was still the malleable child who would do anything for his brother. 

Summoning courage, Shen Yuan raised his chin, “Yes, but this disciple knows master will never honour his words.” He doesn’t have a death wish but he was a kid, it was his job to be bratty. He waited for the sting to the face but it never came. 

“Shen Yuan,” Wu Yanzi sighed, clapped him sharply on that shoulder and unexpectedly stepped back. “There are obviously trust issues between us but that does not mean you could disrespect this master. Don’t make me regret not cutting out your sharp tongue the first time you forget your place because I have been nothing but benevolent to you.”

Indeed, it does not bode well for Shen Yuan. He kept his mouth shut and glanced down at his shoes. They belonged to a clan heir a week ago. 

Wu Yanzi kidnapped the rich young master in hopes to extort ransom from the family but he learned that he was actually doing a favour for the recently appointed clan leader getting rid of his bastard little brother, a threat to his position who was a concubine’s son. No ransom would be paid.

Wu Yanzi killed the kid in cold blood after he stole the kid’s developing core. A core was a core to a greedy predator like Wu Yanzi. Then Shen Yuan was told to throw away his tattered pair simply because the dead boy’s shoes would fit him. 

Someone like Wu Yanzi would not waste his time to steal a slave but he was Shen Yuan’s only hope. What were the chances a scrawny teen could successfully bust out a slave out of a well guarded compound? Slim to none. 

At that moment Shen Yuan regretted his lack of courage to be more proactive in changing Shen Jiu’s life. Why didn’t he pull a Seita move like in the Grave of Fireflies and get the two of them away from the other street rats? Let's say run away with Shen Jiu. Find a cave or an abandoned place deep in some mountains. Perhaps they would come upon their own pond heavily populated by fireflies and lived a better life. Anything would be better than being separated. 

God knows what Shen Jiu was going through at the Qiu’s. He never caught a sight of his twin every time he managed to convince Wu Yanzi to let him stalk around during some of their trips to that town. There were other slaves coming in and out of the property but never Shen Jiu. He was planning to snatch A-Jiu away and run for it but there was no sign of him. 

Okay, the Grave of Fireflies was not the greatest Ghibli anime to get inspired by because Setsuko, the sister eventually died of malnutrition. No matter how much Seita stole and raided to get her food, it was not enough. Seita must be so heartbroken that he died too but eventually they were reunited in death. 

Nope, Shen Yuan died once so he was not keen on dying again and nobody could guarantee that they would end up together. Being separated from A-Jiu was unbearable. He worried for that snarky bastard. 

Had he grown fond of his twin to the verge of being borderline toxic?

[ Twins codependency is unhealthy when they are too emotionally reliant on one another, valuing the approval of the other more than valuing their own self, lacking trust in their own self, having poor self-esteem… ]

The System’s unflappable metallic voice was like a slap across the face, and he instantly pulled himself out of his ill timed reverie. Wu Yanzi was giving him the stink eye. 

_‘Not the right time to be helpful but thanks anyways’_

[ Duly noted. Host is reminded to head to the Cave of Arrays. Failing to arrive at the next quest starting point by sunset costs 50 points deduction. ]

Wu Yanzi eventually had enough. Spewing strings of curses for having to waste Qi for an idiot of a disciple, the rouge cultivator whipped out his sword, stepped on the hovering thing, slung Shen Yuan over his shoulder in a disgraceful fireman carry and off they flew like Harry Potter on a Nimbus. 

Okay, maybe like Voldemort on a Nimbus carrying Harry Potter like a sack of rice but you get the gist.

When they arrived, the sun was no longer in the sky. Wu Yanzi set Shen Yuan down and wordlessly dragged him towards the cave uncaring of the state of dizziness the boy was in. Shen Yuan’s brown threadbare robes provided minimal protection against the icy wind— his teeth chattered.

[ Failure to arrive at quest starting point at designated time. 50 points deducted. Host currently has 510 points ]

_‘Gee… thanks a lot.’_

[ Host entering quest starting point. Would the host like to accept a new quest: ‘Broken Circles’? Reward upon completion is 100 points. Yes/No ]

_‘What happens if I don’t?’_

[ … ( ´_ゝ`) ]

_‘You know what, System? Next time, don’t ask.’_

[ New quest: ‘Broken Circles’? Reward upon completion is 100 points. Yes/No ]

_‘Yes, sure… whatever!’_

[ New quest initiated. ‘Broken Circles’. Objective: Power up Ancient Array and gain +10 Sealing Knowledge. Failure costs 150 points deduction. Host currently has 510 points ]

_‘Ugh…’_

[ Good luck, host! ＠＾▽＾＠ ]

The cave seemed to stretch deep into the mountainside, They traveled along the rock to the smooth sandy base of the cave and waited until their eyes had become accustomed to the gloom. 

“Keep close and don’t dawdle,” the man said. Wu Yanzi lit a fire talisman and pushed a night pearl into Shen Yuan’s hand as they walked in deeper and deeper. 

Shen Yuan could not help thinking about all the caves or dark places he had been in since coming to this world. His demonic cultivator of a master was an avid collector of maps and journals to feed his ever growing curiosity in collecting relics and rare plants. Some of the adventures were successful but most were a waste of time, nothing more than a wild goose chase as most of the maps were fakes.

“You’re awfully quiet this time, A-Yuan,” Wu Yanzi was almost vibrating with excitement. “Good… good… That means we’re on to something tonight.”

“This disciple does not mean to be rude but, how can the master tell?”

The man stopped, turned and gave him the most gleeful smile ever, “Hah, you never notice that you have something akin to dog senses with these things. I can always count on your tells every time I follow these leads. If you’re somewhat cooperative, that means I’m getting something.”

Shen Yuan wanted to slap a palm to his forehead. 

Wu Yanzi was treating him like a treasure hunting barometer. There was an explanation to that— the System. The annoyance of an AI gave out quests during some of Wu Yanzi’s successful escapades. If the System stays silent, that was how Shen Yuan would know the trip was nothing more than a stupid waste of time- he would grumble a lot and Wu Yanzi apparently, noticed.

What started as a comfortable walk started to change as the walls converged into a narrow passageway of cold wet stone. What should be pitch-black darkness was instead illuminated by an eerie glow that came from the many crystals embedded in the limestone walls. Even still, it wasn't enough for them to see where they're going but Wu Yanzi pressed on. 

After walking for a quarter of a shichen, the cave opens up, revealing a long, high-ceilinged channel that widens to form a fairly spacious chamber. With a loud whoop, Wu Yanzi plucked out more talismans to light up the space. The sudden brightness hurt Shen Yuan’s eyes and he had to pause and turn his head away, partially closing them until they could adjust to the influx of light.

Etched on the flat limestone floor was a man made circle that had triangles, rectangles, runes and more circles drawn in it to create a pattern like an intricate pentacle. It looked nothing like the arrays that he had come across in this xianxia world. In fact, it does not fit in the PIDW world setting at all; too modern and Shen Yuan felt like he had seen it before. 

Wu Yanzi stared at the pattern in undisguised glee, rubbing his big hands together and promptly burst out laughing. He whipped out a battered, leather bound book from his infinite storage pouch and laughed even harder. 

If Shen Yuan had been in another state of mind, he might have sneered at the way Wu Yanzi was flapping around like plucked chicken. As it was, the only thing Shen Yuan could see was the red haze that descended over his vision.

_‘That’s the array? Where did you plagiarize it from, huh? The Fullmetal Alchemist?’_

[ Initiating countdown: 3 hours 26 minutes and 3 seconds left to power up the Ancient Array and gain +10 Sealing Knowledge. Failure costs 150 points deduction. Host currently has 510 points ]

_`Answer the question, you dirty, lazy copycat.’_

[ Host… （￣□￣；）]

_‘That’s potentially a homunculus-conjuring shit of a transmutation circle right there. I know my animes, you stinking piece of lily-twat.’_

[ Countdown: 3 hours 24 minutes and 45 seconds left to power up the Ancient Array. ]

_‘Avoidance means guilty.’_

[ (•ﾟдﾟ•) ]

_‘How the heck am I going to boot that thing up? I can barely use Qi.’_

[ Countdown: 3 hours 23 minutes and 12 seconds left to power up the Ancient Array. ]

_‘Fuck you!’_

“...-uan. Shen Yuan!” Bellowed Wu Yanzi followed by a fist which landed on Shen Yuan’s cheek, jarring the white lights back before his eyes. He could feel the skin split over one cheekbone, his feet crumpling beneath him. “I’ve been calling your name like an idiot. How many times have I told you not to space out, you useless trash?”

He was then violently shoved into the cave wall, too stunned to see the second blow to his jaw which knocked him unconscious. 

oo0O0oo

Shen Yuan had never really been knocked out cold, like when your brain really turns off. He had no idea of how long he was out, but as he lay dazed on the cave floor, he wondered why he was still alive.

[ Countdown: 31 minutes and 46 seconds left to power Ancient Array. Failure costs 150 points deduction. Host currently has 510 points ]

The System’s robotic voice worsened his headache. Wu Yanzi’s random burst of violence does not faze him anymore but it was the first time the man hit him that hard. 

Shen Yuan lifted his head and immediately placed it back on the cool stone floor as nausea threatened to sweep him back into unconsciousness; the lightheadedness was odd. 

Unsurprisingly, he discovered that he was totally immobile- lying prone on his right side, his wrists tied behind his back and his ankles bound with a piece of rope Looking around the space, Shen Yuan spotted a dagger placed directly in front of him, right beside a wooden bowl. 

After years of smelling blood in its various states, his nose immediately registered the scent. Fresh blood was more metallic, letting off a sweet, almost cloying scent as it began to dry. His left palm stung indicating that it had been sliced open and there were odd strokes of red all around him and there was an electric thrum of energy in the air.

It was not too difficult to discern the situation, Wu Yanzi worshiped demons, executed a lot of dubious rituals involving smelly plants and dead animals but Shen Yuan had never witnessed him sacrifice a human before. His stomach sank realizing the predicament he was in: there was a high chance that Wu Yanzi would kill him. 

Shen Yuan almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a wet tip of a brush touch the back of his neck. The fiend was crouching behind him all this while. His involuntary yelp made Wu Yanzi chuckle mirthfully, “Finally, this master was wondering when will you ever wake up, A-Yuan.”

“Master… please,” Shen Yuan pleaded, his thoughts filled with A-Jiu. No, no, no, he couldn’t die here. He struggled in his bonds.

“Ah, ah, A-Yuan, don’t move or you’d end up smearing my hard work,” Wu Yanzi tutted, put a boot toe into Shen Yuan's ribs and flipped him over onto his back. “Be a good boy and I will not hurt you more than I already did. Do you know what is going to happen to you?”

Shen Yuan sucked in his breath and kept his face neutral. He shook his head.

“I am going to explain but you have to promise me that you’d be good,” Wu Yanzi was smiling but to Shen Yuan it was nothing but sinister. “Will you be good, A-Yuan?”

Taking Shen Yuan’s silence as an affirmative, Wu Yanzi opened a page in his leather bound book and showed it to the boy. “This here is an Ancient Array that can summon beings whose souls have been touched by the powers of demons. This journal was written by a cultivator who had successfully contracted those beings in the past. I did not believe it at first but as we have found this place precisely like it was described; I dare say there is truth in the writings afterall.”

Wu Yanzi paused to tap a corner of the page to his split cheek causing Shen Yuan to bite his lips to stifle a pained hiss from escaping. His master seemed to like his reaction and continued,”You see, A-Yuan… Although these beings are fascinating, they are not creatures that can easily be convinced to do our biddings as accounted by this cultivator here. Sometimes they are intelligent, most of the time they’re mindless beasts but there is the tricky matter of attempting to control those creatures. Are you still with me, my boy?”

“Yes, Master Wu.”

“Make sure you don’t space off this time if you don’t want to end up dead if we do this wrong because although you are useless, I do like you,” grinned Wu Yanzi, ignoring the defiant rise of Shen Yuan’s eyebrows. “Hmm… petulant as always, good. Now where was I?”

Wu Yanzi dipped his brush into the bowl of blood, Shen Yuan’s blood and added a few more strokes to the ground. He continued to ramble, “I have made a few adjustments to this array to minimize the chance of us pulling up a random, mindless thing that is impossible to control. That is also where you come in, my boy.”

“This one?”

“Yes, you. We are running out of time so I will cut to the chase. According to this master cultivator, the creature summoned needs blood as sustenance so it is highly plausible for it to be controlled by forming a blood contract. I used your blood so that you would have some sort of control over it for a few minutes as I will attempt to subdue it altogether from outside the array.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me. I don’t need a creature without a brain to come out of there, A-Yuan. So make sure you concentrate hard enough to call upon a being intelligent enough to fulfill your most desperate wishes,” Wu Yanzi’s drawled, dusting his black robes before collecting his tools, putting them away. 

“How does Master know that this will work?” hissed Shen Yuan albeit knowing that it definitely will because this was a goddamn quest given by the System.

“I don’t,” said Wu Yanzi with a straight face. “But I have read the cultivator's journal enough to know there is a high chance it will. Do you not want to rescue your twin? Give it a gamble. Give your best and who knows, the creature might help you get rid of me.”

Shen Yuan met Wu Yanzi’s gaze stolidly, his eyes narrowed, calculating. That made Wu Yanzi snigger and broke down into maniacal laughter. “Yes, just like that! But can you see the array I set up around this thing? A creature powered by malice, even demons could never cross the barrier so hold on to that thought.”

Although the formation Wu Yanzi set up was the one he frequently used, one which Shen Yuan knew how it functions, to break it was a completely different matter for a boy with an underdeveloped cultivation. He had to admit that Wu Yanzi was a genius when it came down to sealing; the rogue had actually set up his own spiritual barrier outside of the Ancient Array. “This disciple thinks that the Master should have used his own blood.”

“Oh, no… It wouldn’t bring out the kind of strong-cored creature that I want. There’s not enough desperation in me, you see. You are the perfect lure,” he scoffed. “Remember, these beings thrive on blood. Do not fight it if it tries to bite you. Perhaps that would give me enough time to subdue it. It hates light hence I will channel Qi to overflow the light talismans, that should stun it and then activate my demon containment array. Then, I will absorb its core.”

[ Countdown: 10 minutes and 30 seconds left to power Ancient Array. ]

_‘Needs blood, hates light, souls touched by demons... Oi, don’t tell me this scum is attempting to conjure vampires.”_

[ Countdown: 10 minutes and 15 seconds left to power Ancient Array. ]

_‘Shirking again are you? I knew it.’_

[ … (ﾟｰﾟ; ]

_‘You ripped this damn transmutation circle off Edward Elric from FMA so what’s next, huh? Who are you going to bring in? I know my anime.”_

[ Countdown: 9 minutes and 55 seconds left to power Ancient Array. ]

_‘Is it Saya from Blood+?’_

[ Countdown: 9 minutes and 45 seconds ]

_‘Rosario+Vampire’s Akashiya Moka?’_

[ Countdown: 9 minutes and 30 seconds ]

_‘I’d prefer Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji but he’s a full fledged demon, so… I guess not’_

[ Countdown: 9 minutes and 15 seconds ]

_‘If it’s Abel Nightroad from Trinity Blood, consider yourself forgiven.’_

[ Countdown: 9 minutes and 5 seconds ]

_‘Just so you know, I’d go gay for Cadis Etrama di Raizel.’_

[ Countdown: 8 minutes and 55 seconds ]

_‘Have you SEEN Rai? Noblesse… hello? You’d digitally drool, I promise.’_

[ Countdown: 8 minutes and 45 seconds ]

_‘I want Rai, you stinking piece of lily-twat! I swear…’_

[ Countdown: 8 minutes and 30 seconds ]

_‘DIO from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures is so daddy but he will turn me into a human stick way faster than Luo Binghe.’_

[ 凸(⊙▂⊙ ) ]

_‘Oh, not him? Thank fuck!’_

[ Countdown: 8 minutes and 15 seconds ]

_‘Don’t tell me you fuckers are giving me Hellsings’s Alucard. I’d die, turned to paste!’_

[ The system assures you that the incoming RPA will not contribute to host’s termination. ]

_‘Oooh, so it’s called RPA now? Which bloodsucker are you going to send in, really? Last one, Kuran Yuuki because she has experience dealing with those angsty Vampire Knights boys so she’d know how to handle my cranky A-Jiu or no deal. Do away with my points, I don’t care.’_

[ The System will assign the most compatible RPA to host’s future endeavours, rest assured. ]

_‘I resent that. I demand the right to choose if I have to fend my neck from a vampire.’_

[ Countdown: 7 minutes and 45 seconds. Good luck! ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡ ]

_‘Damn you.’_

The air in the cavern was changing. You know, like how cosmic radiation changes accordingly with variations in electromagnetic phenomena? There was that energy which made your skin dry as the electrified layer of thin air particles zap out all the moisture during magnetic storms. Some people might call it magic but Shen Yuan registered it as a sign before shit was about to hit the fan.

The edges of the array were starting to glow red. 

“Oh, I just love it when a plan comes together nicely,” Wu Yanzi beamed, his face lighting up with manic excitement, and spread his arms wide, flashing Shen Yuan with his yellowish teeth. “Feel that, A-Yuan? The full moon is rising to its highest point!”

Moving swiftly, Wu Yanzi hauled Shen Yuan up to kneel in the centre of the glowing array by grabbing his hair, and then pulled back his head and slipped the edge of a dagger under his chin. “Not one twitch, brat. I can’t promise that my hand will stay steady,” came the warning as the tip of the blade pierced skin, dragging it across. He kept the cut shallow, to avoid damaging the muscle beneath the skin, but he made it deep enough to ensure that it was bleeding.

“I am not going to harm you more than this, A-Yuan.” Wu Yanzi let out an airy laugh making Shen Yuan wince. “Now tip your body forwards because we need just a bit more for the array to work. Do you understand? Will you continue to be good for me?”

Feeling his pulse against the steel, breath caught in his throat, Shen Yuan nodded as the first tears fell down his cheeks. The ropes binding his wrists and ankles burned into his skin. The long gash dripped blood down his neck and splattered the floor with bright red, pebble-sized circles.

A bite of pain shot along Shen Yuan’s neck as Wu Yanzi smeared the blood against the cut after he pulled the blade away. Wu Yanzi stepped out of the bloodied formation keeping his dark eyes locked onto Shen Yuan’s as he licked some of the red droplets off his dagger. 

“Hmm… even monsters would find you pretty looking like this,” Wu Yanzi whispered conspiratorially, disappearing into the shadows, his nauseating voice fading away. “Please stay right there, think of your poor brother’s predicament and wish for the strongest to come through and I will take care of the rest, A-Yuan.”

He doesn’t need to think of anything. The smarmy System has everything all set up. 

Shen Yuan swallowed, as if forcing down a lump of hot coal watching the array glow brighter, then he bobbed his head once and said, half mumbling, “Sure you will, if it doesn’t kill you first.”

As the minutes passed, Shen Yuan felt the vortex of energy that that place represented, and he was overwhelmed . Tears streamed down his cheeks.The red light was so strong and there was this pressure like alternating currents of power and pain, each complementing the other and transforming into something he failed to describe. He gasped in awe of it .

Then there was a void appearing a few feet above his head, the diameter large enough reaching to the ceiling above and from the roiling blackness was a pair of hands clawing its way out. The void emitted a disjointed sense of anguish, of disorder and chaos, unseen but intensely felt. His meager amount of Qi was leaking, absorbed by the array. Shen Yuan knelt doubled over staring into the calm eye of this raging darkness which contrasted with the bright red of the cavern chamber.

When Shen Yuan was younger, he nearly shatted himself while watching a horror movie with his two older brothers. There was a ghost named Samara. Samara, with her shapeless white frock and streaming black hair, may not be a ghost of any sort, but perhaps an evil spirit with a penchant for emerging from the wells and then the television to kill her victims. It was not Samara's ghastly appearance or the way she mauled people that scared him but it was the way her pale, spider-like hands splayed on the glass or on the ground, claws raking the surface before the rest of her appeared that made him shrivel and cry.. 

[ Congratulations! ヾ(^ ^ゞ ‘Broken Circles’ Quest completed. +10 Sealing Knowledge, +100 points obtained. Host currently has 610 points]

The System’s announcement did not help. He snapped his head up. Oh yeah, Shen Yuan was still scared of creepy white hands. They gave a final heave and the thing tore loose with a sound of screeching metal. It moved too fast for his eyes to track, landing heavily onto the stone floor. 

The dark void above vanished, the red light from the Ancient Array fading. 

“Kid, who— oh, fuck you’re bleeding. What the...” a low male voice said from beside him, cut short as Wu Yanzi activated his demon containment array. 

Shen Yuan heard the new arrival growl as he threw a forearm over his face as blinding white light flooded the cave chamber. 

Mystery being obtained. Wu Yanzi was revving up for the next phase.

[ Congratulations for unlocking your RPA! Spend 150 points to obtain RPA bio and +10 Trust points. Yes/No ]

_‘Okay, sure fuck it... yes!! Hurry up!”_

The System babbled on but the wall of energy emitted by Wu Yanzi’s barrier was disorienting; Shen Yuan’s ears were buzzed with static.

Everyone always says that time drops into slow motion in the heat of a crisis. Shen Yuan winced at the sound of metal slicing through flesh but oddly he felt no pain. There was another growl and Wu Yanzi was shouting something. He took a deep breath and then a spray of warm liquid spattered across his nose and face- not his blood then.

That was followed by more yells of surprise, consternation, loud swearing and more confusion. 

When Shen Yuan’s vision adjusted, he saw a complicated mix of oblique shapes and gray-black hues whose densities stretched and oozed as if he stared at the sun too long. His eyeballs hurt.

The demon containment array was intact but failed to subdue the summoned being.

Wu Yanzi was wielding his sword, the other was most likely unarmed but moved too fast for the cultivator’s slashes to land judging from the noise of metal hitting stone. Then a series of high pitched alarms came out of the rouge cultivator. They weren't a human’s scream; it was more like the sound a wounded animal makes when it hurts beyond its capacity. His shrieks ended in a choking sound, and then he was quiet.

Panicked, unsure of what was going on, Shen Yuan tried to stand up with his ankles still bound together but a wave of vertigo and nausea washed over him, sending him back down. The cavern turned pitch black as Wu Yanzi’s light talismans shriveled away after losing their source of Qi.

In the darkness, a pair of eyes glowed red like light bulbs, causing Shen Yuan's scalp to tingle. He found himself being inspected closely before the male spoke, “Hey, it’s alright now. The bad man is gone.”

When Shen Yuan looked directly into those scorching red eyes, his heart burned with anxiety. The gaze, despite its unnaturalness, was as concerned as his tone. 

“Gone?” Shen Yuan squeaked, regretting that his voice sounds weak and frightened. Well sir, he was genuinely afraid. There was still a good chance that the being, if this was really a vampire, would attempt to get a bite out of him, he was still bleeding for fucks sake, RPA or not.

“Gone— he won’t be able to hurt you anymore.” Again, the being spoke to him gently, as if he was coaxing a child. Fine, Shen Yuan was physically thirteen so he took it but he was no child.

“Um, is he dead, ge-ge?” Shen Yuan said, carefully. He bought 10 Trust points did he? Too bad he was too panicked to catch the other’s name so he would have to settle for big bro for the moment. Besides, wouldn’t it be suspicious if he knew it before it was given.

There was a pause, the red eyes disappeared as the other closed his eyes briefly. 

Hesitation? A moment caught off guard?

“Look, ge-ge, it’s fine and this Shen Yuan would like to thank ge-ge for saving him from that beast.”

“Shen Yuan?”

“Shen Yuan is this one’s name.” 

“I see,” the male hummed, walking a few steps closer. 

“Ge-ge...” 

“My name is not Ge-ge.”

Shen Yuan should have known that the newcomer was not from this world. “Ge-ge means older brother. This one didn’t know your name.”

“I see.” Yet no name was given. 

“Ge-ge, this one is unable to see in the dark.”

“I noticed.” 

“But Ge-ge is able to, right?” Shen Yuan was unsure how to go about it but he would try. He needed Wu Yanzi’s qiankun pouch and then run the hell out.

“Hn.”

“Will ge-ge please untie this one?”

“Yes, but are you not afraid of me?” the vampire asked tentatively. ‘I am not human’ remains unsaid. His voice was soft and seemed strained, almost as if he was afraid Shen Yuan would burst into tears any moment. 

“Just a bit but I think ge-ge is a good person for saving this one from Wu Yanzi, he was the one you just fought, my teacher,” Shen Yuan explained. “But the master is a bad man. Master tied this one up so he could call up a demon.”

“You mean your teacher almost successfully sacrificed you to conjure a demon?”

“But ge-ge is not a demon.” Shen Yuan wanted to say it was because Wu Yanzi’s barrier didn’t work on him but abstained.

“How are you sure that I am not?” 

“Because ge-ge saved this one’s life and this Shen Yuan owes his savior a favour of equal value. Demons are evil but Ge-ge is not so Ge-ge is not a demon.” 

“Pfft…” the mysterious male snorted, shaking his head. “Alright, alright, I get it. You’re a weird one but please, you don’t owe me anything.”

“But Ge-ge, I do!” Shen Yuan must have pouted stubbornly because the male harrumphed in amusement shortly before he was freed. Blood flooded through his hands and feet, stinging as the parts began to wake up. Strong hands trusted under Shen Yuan’s armpits, hoisting him up to his unsteady feet. 

Feeling braver, Shen Yuan asked to be led towards Wu Yanzi’s cooling body, the red eyes dimmer but still watching him rummage through the rouge cultivator’s bloodied robes for the qiankun pouch. 

He found it, searched through the disorganized clutter in the pouch hoping to score something useful. A night pearl was found and lighted. It was still quite dim since Shen Yuan was low on Qi but it was enough for him to take in the male standing beside him.

Shen Yuan frowned, thinking that his savior looked familiar, face buried in the darkness because of the lowered head and the lack of light. Tall and lithe. Despite his crown of short, silvery hair, he appeared young. Dressed in modern clothing, articles not from this world; red stained white shirt under a dirtied long overcoat, dark trousers and a pair of sturdy black leather boots. 

“What is it?” The pale, silver-haired youth asked as Shen Yuan was silent for a long while, perhaps wondering if something was wrong. He shifted his position so he could look closely at Shen Yuan, studying him in puzzlement, but also concern. The red continued to fade until those orbs took on an exotic tint of light purple.

Shen Yuan then saw a tattoo, a black thing that looked like a seal on the left side of the youth’s neck. There were piercings on both ears and Shen Yuan could recognize that frown anywhere. 

_‘OMFG, System... you sicced the King of Angst on me!’_

[ The System had matched Host with the most compatible RPA. Purchased RPA stats available for viewing—]

_‘Kiryu Zero?!!’_

[ Kiryu Zero. World: Vampire Knight. Race:Ex-human vampire. Affiliation: President of the Hunter Association. Skill: Marksmanship, swordplay. Status in OR world: Deceased. Further information available upon 100 Trust points achievement.]

_‘Aughhh… shut up! I know more than enough. I’ve read the VK manga, watched the anime 8 times and read all of the ZeKa and KaZe fanfic in existence.’_

[ Host is forbidden to disclose unauthorized world information and existence of the System to the RPA or face a 100 point penalty. Host currently has 460 points. ]

_‘A vampire RPA, a real frickin vampire… I can’t! I just can’t!’_

[ An ex-human vampire. ]

_‘Red curry and green curry. Seems different but all the same.’_

Looking down behind him, Shen Yuan saw the dead body of the rogue demonic cultivator, and the dreadful feeling in his stomach turned to nausea. Bile rose in his throat and he can’t control the increased pulse rate.

“Shen Yuan?” The newly identified Kiryu Zero’s called out to him. 

“Uh… I-” Shen Yuan sputtered dumbly. At once a hundred thoughts went flashing through his brain. The only thing he was aware of was how not to be a weirdo around the vampire and he has to do something about Wu Yanzi. 

It was the first time he had seen death in its most hideous form. The ruffian lay on his back in a pool of spreading blood, with his broken sword protruding from his neck. The dead hands clutched it yet, as if to tug it out. His robes were soaked with blood, and dead eyes stared into nothing from a face frozen in twisted grimace. 

This was the work of a trained killer. He gulped.

Shen Yuan did not see the true extent of the carnage before when he groped for the qiankun pouch as it was dark. Bile rose in his throat and he can’t control the increased pulse rate.

In the silence Shen Yuan heard the vampire sigh, a sigh that ended in a strange, sound of regret. “I should have expected you to be shocked,” Kiryu Zero muttered helplessly. “It’s fine to be spooked, kid.”

“I’m not scared nor am I a kid,” he denied, mechanically passed his hand over his eyes and shivered. “You saved me from him.”

“Hn.” 

Shen Yuan was about to offer a brief explanation about the world that the vampire had just found himself in when he felt his sleeve being tugged firmly, a silent request to turn away and leave that place. 

“But, the body…” he halted.

“Will other people come to this place?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then leave it be.”

“But this Shen Yuan should at least bury Master Wu. No matter how bad he was, he was his teacher; he sheltered him for almost a year.”

“No.”

“But ge-ge..”

“Kid, you are spewing misplaced gratitude there. Similar to how lesser humans have felt towards figures of power for taking less than full advantage of their authority, singling them out for indubitable servitude in return for protection.” Kiryu Zero uttered these words with perfect calmness, but in a cold, cutting tone, as sharp as a sword. “That master of yours ceased to be human the moment he chose to sacrifice a child for a demon. A monster does not deserve a grave.” 

_‘System, that long ass sentence is so OOC for this supposedly tsundere character but why does that sound so…’_

[ IKR. ༼ ༎ຶ ෴ ༎ຶ༽ King of Angst? Your words Host, not mine. ]

_‘Dead vampires turn to ash. System, what was Kiryu Zero’s status again— deceased?’_

[ … ]

This time Shen Yuan did not resist the pull and allowed himself to be led away.

oo0O0oo

Shen Yuan stepped out of the cave, rubbing his eyes. The skyline was streaked with the first pallor of dawn. Several steps ahead of him, Kiryu Zero stood motionless with his head leaned back towards the sky. 

Spread in a semicircle about the curve beyond the opening was the most magnificent panoramic view. There were the plains, the pine mountains, the upper timber and the tremendous granite peaks. Shen Yuan has never noticed these things before as he was always too busy to survive from one day to another in the back alleys, worrying about Shen Jiu while struggling with hunger, despairing since they were separated and there was the neverending dread, fearing for their uncertain future. 

Wu Yanzi has no more power over him.

Letting the corners of his mouth lift to form a relieved smile, Shen Yuan focused his gaze far into the distance towards the brightening clouds as far as he could. He extended his arms to the side, ignoring the rope burns around his wrist, the scabbing gash across his palm and the bruises mapping his skin. He then raised them slowly and outwardly, keeping his elbows behind him, never bending either of them and inhaled a long, deliberate, intake of cool air. 

He felt Kiryu Zero’s eyes trained on him but he ignored them.

Lungs filled to capacity, Shen Yuan knew from that moment the days would be better. 

Without words exchanged between them, they began their trek down the mountains. 

oo0O0oo

“Do you have any plans once we get off this mountain, ge-ge?” asked Shen Yuan while lying on his back and examined dispassionately, with an interest entirely detached, the huge cliff-walls of the valley. 

The air tastes cold, but the sun is warm. Birds of extraordinary cheerfulness sing merrily to flowers that seem to possess this concentrated brilliancy both of color and of perfume, there were trees growing in clusters with openings where the sun shone through. The shadows were very black, the sunlight very white.

Earlier, Kiryu Zero, who had been walking a distance ahead of him, suddenly came across a small stream flowing through it and suggested that they should take a break after hours of walking in silence. Shen Yuan had expected that the silver haired vampire to be someone who wouldn’t waste his breath communicating using words— but not a mute by habit.

Silence.

“We?” Finally, a reply— one silver eyebrow arched, a delayed answer in the form of another question but an answer nevertheless.

Really, perhaps it needed at least an angel with a flaming sword to force Kiryu Zero to talk. Or another rogue cultivator who wants to sacrifice him to more demons. Currently, the vampire was trying his best to wash out Wu Yanzi’s stale blood off his person by the stream.

“Yes, us—” Shen Yuan lifted his head to meet the vampire’s eyes and smiled, he took notice that they were in fact a shade close to lavender instead of purple; “this Shen Yuan would like to believe that ge-ge was brought to this world for a reason and it would be best if ge-ge accepts this one’s companionship for the time being. I intend to repay my debt too.”

“Look kid, there’s nothing to be repaid. You have no idea who I am, what I am, and you know what, yes, I don’t even know why I’m here but I do know that my presence will be detrimental to you,” said Kiryu Zero, his tone held a note of scolding, as if disappointed in Shen Yuan for ignoring his true nature.

Shen Yuan immediately sat up, squared his shoulders and rested both hands on his knees. 

Cutting a narrow eyed glance at Shen Yuan, Kiryu Zero added, “Unless there is a pressing reason that made you want me to stay with you.”

“Ah, ge-ge is preceptive, I do need your help with something,” Shen Yuan grinned sheepishly, “Why do ge-ge say that he is detirimen— ah, that word is too hard for this A-Yuan—”

“Kid, I may not be a demon but I am similar to one,” the vampire cut him off.

“My name is Shen Yuan, ge-ge, not kid. Ge-ge may call this one A-Yuan like A-Jiu does.”

“A-Jiu?”

“En, A-Jiu— my older twin brother,” Shen Yuan heard himself say, his voice not nearly as strong as he would have liked, “A-Jiu is the reason I need your help, I must rescue him.”

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I repeat, I wrote this on a whim back in October 2020.
> 
> Is this worth continuing? The crossover gap is too vast if you ask me.
> 
> To continue or to bench this one, that is the question. Tell me what you think of this piece of work.
> 
> Tap that “kudos” button if this story’s worth it and deserves attention from other SV&VK readers out there. I can’t rate this as “M” or “E” or slash so they will probably miss out, filter, you know. *wink x3”  
> (*^▽^*)


End file.
